


Summer 1998

by A_Professional_Protagonist



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Canon Compliant, Drabble Collection, F/M, Grief/Mourning, Post-Canon, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-25
Updated: 2020-05-09
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:35:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23842372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Professional_Protagonist/pseuds/A_Professional_Protagonist
Summary: The summer of 1998 told in drabbles. Each chapter focuses on a theme.
Relationships: Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley
Comments: 7
Kudos: 27





	1. The First Day

**A/N Lately, I’ve been reading a lot of post-war fanfiction. Something about that first summer after Voldemort’s defeat fascinates me, but we don’t get to hear about it in canon. Luckily, that’s what fanfiction is for! Thank you to all the amazing writers who have written about it.**

**Here’s my version. This is a big experiment with format. I seem to come up with little scenes easily, but struggle with big plot and transitions. So instead of fighting that, I decided to lean in. Tell me what you think!**

*****

2nd May 1998  
5:30 AM

A second of shocked silence suddenly broken by a cacophony of roaring celebration.

Harry was vaguely aware of Ron and Hermione hugging him. Of more people suddenly pressing into him, cheering, yelling, crying.

Then, Harry felt a soft hand grasp his. He looked down. Fiery red hair and blazing eyes came into focus, blocking out all the confusion around him. He held tightly to her hand as he wrapped his other arm around her back, pulling her close. He bowed his head to rest on hers. She smelled of smoke and sweat and blood, but under it all the flowery scent he knew so well. The scent he had dreamed of so often. 

He felt her squeeze his hand hard, eyes looking to his, a promise that they’d be together later. And then, she backed away, fading into the crowd as the multitude sought him out, everyone eager for some interaction with the Boy Who Lived.

*****

8:45 AM

Harry, Ron, and Hermione stood suddenly, wands out, sandwiches dropped, as someone crashed through the portrait into the Gryffindor common room.

Two someones, actually. A blond young woman tackled a tall, dark haired young man to the ground, snogging him fiercely.

“Neville, you were so brave!” 

“Oi!” Ron’s shout startled the couple.

Neville Longbottom and Hannah Abbott both turned bright red as they noticed the trio. 

“Uhh, sorry. We didn’t think anyone would be up here.” Neville stood, reaching out a hand to help Hannah up. “We’ll just… ummm… go somewhere else.” Neville mumbled as he dragged Hannah back towards the portrait hole.

Harry collapsed back onto the couch. “You miss a year of school and everything changes.”

“Innit.” Ron agreed before devouring his sandwich.

*****

1:45 PM

Bill approached the Burrow waving his wand back and forth in a sensing spell. Fleur stood behind him, wand out and ready.

His childhood home had been raided by Deatheaters looking for Harry during the war. Luckily, his family had escaped before they arrived. Now that the war was over, his family needed a home to return to.

And so, even though he'd only slept a few hours in two days, Bill was here, checking for curses and traps. As the eldest, his family needed him to be strong. Needed him to take charge while his parents grieved. He couldn’t allow himself to fall apart, to weep for his brother, to collapse with exhaustion.

Fleur, wonderful, strong, brilliant Fleur was right beside him. So often dismissed as just beautiful, she was a powerful and skilled witch. She followed behind Bill, repairing windows and furniture, piling the small things to be fixed later, looking all the while as if she hadn't just been through a battle. But Bill knew the small signs of her exhaustion. And yet, she was here, helping, because she loved him.

When they were done, Bill collapsed on the sitting room floor. He finally allowed himself to weep, to let all the grief, horror, and frustration out as his wife held his head in her lap.

*****

5:30 PM

"Oi! Time to get up, you!"

The late afternoon sun hit Harry full in the face as Ron roughly pulled back the curtains.

"McGonagall wants Pomfrey to have a proper look at you and then we are going home."

"Home?" Harry asked, still fuzzy from sleep.

"Home. The Burrow. Bill and Fleur checked it out. Ransacked, but not cursed. Turns out the Deatheaters were too busy to do much damage." Ron tried to smirk arrogantly, but it didn’t quite work with his tired and tear stained face.

Guilt clenched at Harry's chest. "I can't go to the Burrow. I can't burden your family. It's my fault Fred…"

"Stuff it, Harry. You _are_ family. Now get your arse outta bed."

*****

10:15 PM

Charlie walked into Fred and George's room. Well, George's room now. The floor was covered in potion bottles, rolls of parchment, tubes, and other assorted bits. George sat in the middle of the chaos, staring at a roll of parchment.

"Fred was working on something new. He wouldn't tell me what it was. He was so excited. Called it a million galleon idea."

Charlie nodded, even though George hadn't looked up. "Those his notes?"

"Yea." George swallowed hard. "It was stupid. The daftest thing he'd ever come up with." George laughed haltingly. "Never would have sold. Dumb git."

Charlie sat beside his brother, setting down the bottle and three glasses he'd carried in. He poured three whiskies, handing one to George and sitting the third in front of them. He clinked his glass against the third. "To Fred, the dumb git."

"To Fred," George echoed, voice breaking slightly with tears.

Charlie pretended not to notice.

*****

11:00 PM

Ginny watched Hermione head up the stairs, leaving Harry alone in the sitting room. Finally. Between the celebration and the grieving and the cleanup, she’d been trying all day to get a moment alone with him.

Now he sat on the sofa. Clearly exhausted, head back, eyes closed. 

Ginny walked quietly into the room and straddled his lap. Harry’s eyes flew open, and he started to speak. 

“Shush,” Ginny interrupted. “Right now, I’m just glad you’re alive.” She leaned forward, pressing her mouth slowly, sweetly against his. After a second’s hesitation, he responded, kissing her with all the emotion he’d kept bottled up for the past ten months.

Eventually, they parted, gasping for breath, foreheads pressed together.

“Does this mean we’re back together?” Harry asked, hesitant and hopeful.

“Yes, but later I am going to kick your arse for leaving me behind while you went on your stupid, noble quest, and you are going to share everything that happened with me. But right now, I just want to be happy you’re alive.”

“Deal.”

After a time, Ginny laid down on the sofa, pulling Harry’s head to her chest. They fell asleep holding each other close. 

*****

11:30 PM

“Well… that… ummm.... escalated quickly.” Hermione moved carefully from straddling Ron to laying on her back beside him. 

Ron rolled to face her, propping himself up on an elbow and looking at her with concern. “Are you alright with this? I never wanted to rush you.”

Hermione laughed lightly. “You weren’t rushing me. I pushed you into the bed. I was on top.” She paused. “Was I rushing you?”

She had come to his room to drop off the clothes she still had in her beaded bag, intending to then go to Ginny’s room to sleep as she always did. Instead, she’d found him in only a towel, fresh from the shower. She hadn’t been able to resist kissing him, then more than kissing him, culminating in the straddling. It was as if that kiss back at Hogwarts had burst the dam on years of repressed feelings. And now there was no holding them back.

It was Ron’s turn to laugh. “Hell, no. I’ve wanted to do that for years!”

“Years?”

“Years.” Ron confirmed as he leaned down to kiss her.

“So… ummm… are we dating then?”

“I reckon so.”

*****

3rd May 1998  
4:50 AM

Ron felt Hermione slide out of his arms, and he reached out to pull her back.

"Shhh. I don't want to cause an incident being found here in the morning." She kissed him sweetly on the lips and stroked his cheek.

Ron felt a wave of pleasure at the affection. As he watched her quietly dressing, he thought of all the wonderful things that had caused her to be undressed in bed with him. He couldn't imagine being any happier.

The soft click of his bedroom door brought him back to the present. Hermione was sneaking out to avoid an incident. To avoid causing his family any trouble. Because they'd had enough trouble in the last day.

A wave of guilt rushed over Ron as he remembered his brother was dead. How dare he be happy. He choked back a sob and buried his head in his pillow.

*****

6:40 AM

Molly slipped quietly from her bed and slipped on her dressing gown. She gazed at her husband's sleeping face. Rather than the soft peaceful expression he normally had while sleeping, his brow was furrowed and his jaw was set tight. Molly's eyes watered to see her husband's pain. 

She choked back her tears as she softly shut the bedroom door. Yesterday, she'd been consumed by her grief, holding her children and weeping, letting others make all the decisions. 

She was not going to let herself fall apart today. 

In the kitchen, Molly began to care for her family the best way she knew how. A full fry-up. Someone, thankfully, had had the foresight to go to the market. 

Her family trickled into the kitchen, lured by the smell of coffee and frying meat. They were tired, they were grieving. And there was a glaring absence. But Molly would see them heal together.

****

**A/N  
A couple of awesome people influenced parts of this. Thank you!**

**The first drabble is influenced by some thoughts by Annerb. She does an awesome job analyzing the first couple minutes after Voldemort’s defeat and made me realize there was room to add a tiny Hinny moment between the lines of the canon text. https://annerbhp.tumblr.com/post/184761039876/in-a-recent-post-you-described-how-harry-and**

**I originally imagined Harry and Ginny’s reunion and conversation taking place in the Gryffindor dorms, but this image by Blvnk moved it to the Burrow for me.  
https://blvnk-art.tumblr.com/post/173658850759/in-the-burrows-living-room-at-11pm-harry-and**

**Thanks for reading. Comments make my day. And don’t forget to be awesome.**


	2. I Love You

Arthur stood beside his wife in the small graveyard on the edge of the Burrow property. Until this week, there had been just two humble and unmarked graves. Fabian and Gideon Prewett. They had been hurriedly buried here after they were killed in the First Wizarding War. No funeral or marking for fear of retaliation.

Now there was another grave. This one was marked with a small headstone. There had been two funerals: the mass memorial at Hogwarts and a small burial ceremony here. Many of the Fallen Fifty had been buried at Hogwarts, but Molly wanted her son close. So Fred was buried beside his uncles who had also given their lives to defeat Voldemort.

"Do you recall what the midwitch said when she told us it was twin boys?" Arthur asked as he pulled his wife close with an arm around her shoulders.

Molly smiled. “That we were in for a lot of trouble.”

“We were. But the best kind. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”

“Nor I.” Molly placed her hand on the gravestone. “I love you.”

*****

After more than a week away from home, after the battle, the cleanup, and the grieving at the Burrow, Bill couldn’t be happier to be in his own home, his own bed, with his wife. His wonderful, strong, beautiful wife. She’d been at his side in the battle, fighting with skill and power. She’d helped him to secure the Burrow and comforted him at his brother’s funeral. Her arms, which had held him in his grief, now held him with a more pleasant emotion.

Reluctant to interrupt this embrace, he nonetheless pulled away, reaching for his wand to perform the contraceptive charm.

“Wait.” Her voice low. “W’at if you don’t?”

That certainly interrupted things. He found himself sitting up in the bed staring blankly at his wife.

“We said we weren’t ready.” He said dumbly.

“We weren’t ready when zere was a murdering madman trying to take over ze world.” She shrugged sitting up and taking his hands in hers. “Now zat we are safe… I am ready… if you are.”

Bill imagined her stomach swelling with their child. He thought of holding a tiny baby, playing with a toddler, seeing them off for their first day of Hogwarts. He smiled.

“I’m ready.” He kissed her sweetly, slowly. “I love you.”

“I love you.” And she pulled him down onto her.

*****

"So there was a piece of _Voldemort_ inside me most of my life." Harry spoke softly, eyes on his hands folded in his lap as he sat on the edge of Ginny's bed.

"Oh, Harry." He’d been through so much in his life. The death of his parents. The abusive Dursleys. Sirius. Dumbledore. And this last terrible year. He had carried this burden for so long. Voldemort had finally been defeated, but at great cost to Harry. Ginny’s chest tightened to see him in such pain.

Ginny reached out a hand to gently cup his cheek, turning his face so she could look him in the eye. "I love you, Harry."

He quickly looked down. "Don't say that to me out of pity."

She forced his chin back up. "It's not out of pity." She kissed him sweetly before forcing eye contact again. "I. Love. You. I have for a long time. And the awful things you've been through don't change that."

She lay back on the blanket, pulling him down beside her. He lay with his head on her chest, breath slowly calming as she held him tight.

This wasn’t the first time they’d lain like this, holding each other as they slowly shared the events of the past year. But it was the first time she’d let herself say those words. 

“I love you, too.”

“I know.” Ginny brushed his unruly hair aside to kiss his forehead, purposefully covering his old scar with her lips.

*****

It was a beautiful, bright spring morning at the Burrow, so Ron and Hermione had taken their breakfast outside. They sat on the back porch, with bacon, toast, and tea, watching the chickens peck in the yard.

A sudden swooshing sound signaled the arrival of a great horned owl. It landed next to Hermione and extended a leg gracefully. She removed the letter and thanked it with a bite of bacon.

“Whash sat?” Ron mumbled around his mouthful.

“Portkey instructions to Australia.” Hermione answered, her voice quiet and thoughtful.

Ron’s chest tightened at the pain and guilt clear in her expression. “When do we leave?”

“We?” Hermione looked up. “You can’t come with me. Your family needs you right now.”

“You need me, too. You’re just as important.” Ron took a deep breath and forced himself to look in her eyes. “I love you.”

“Oh, Ron.” Hermione’s eyes glistened as tears started to form.

Ron couldn’t let her start to cry, so he lightened the mood the best way he knew how. “Besides, I can’t pass up the chance to get you alone in a hotel room on another continent.” 

It did the trick.

She laughed and punched him in the arm. “One track mind, you.”

He flashed her a wicked smirk. “You love it.”

“I do. I love you.”

*****

**A/N Thanks for reading. Comments make my day. And don’t forget to be awesome.**


	3. Birthdays

**This is going to end up being out of chronological order. I have ideas for things that would happen earlier in the summer. This one is done though, so I’m posting it.**

Ginny and Hermione walked quietly up the stairs in the dark, being careful to avoid the ones that creaked. Ginny stopped at the door to Percy’s old bedroom as Hermione continued up to Ron’s attic bedroom. This little maneuver had been awkward the first time. Ginny and Hermione had spent an hour trying to wait for the other to fall asleep, before realizing they were both planning to sneak out to their respective boyfriend’s rooms. They’d finally come to a giggling acknowledgement of their physical relationships. And while Ginny really didn’t want to know the details, she was quite happy that Hermione and her brother had finally gotten together.

“Happy birthday,” Ginny said after shutting and silencing the door. 

“You’ve said that already,” Harry grinned from the bed.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione usually stayed at Grimmauld Place, but tonight had been Harry’s birthday dinner and tomorrow, they were all going to the sea, so it made sense to stay at the Burrow. Which was perfect for Ginny’s plan.

“Yes, but I’m here to give you your present.” Ginny dropped her pajama bottoms and jumper, giving a twirl so Harry could admire the lacy matching bra and knickers set, before crawling into bed beside him.

“And, I appreciate it.” Harry mumbled, eyes wide, as he traced his fingers along the edge of her bra.

“Actually, I was thinking that we could… ummm… do something more tonight… you know… we could do everything.” 

Harry’s fingers froze. “You mean… sex?” While their physical relationship had developed quickly this summer, they had yet to cross that final line. 

Harry pulled back and sat up. “Ginny… I… believe me, I want to, but… not like this. When we do that, I want to do it right.”

This was not the reaction Ginny had expected. Harry had enthusiastically crossed all the other lines with her. He hadn’t been reluctant last year by the lake when she'd first taken her hand to him or in the orchard in June the first time he’d used his mouth on her.

“Ok,” Ginny tried not to sound offended, but she couldn’t help but feel stung at the rejection. “I don’t want to pressure you into anything you’re not ready for.”

“Oh, I’m ready!” Harry quickly cut in, taking her hands. “It’s just I want to do this right.”

“What does that mean?”

“Well, not in your brother’s bed for one.” He laughed. “I want to take you on a proper date, go back to my house, and take our time. No sneaking about, no worrying who might realize you’re out of bed. I want to wake up beside you and make you breakfast. And… do it right.”

He’d clearly thought this through. And it was important to him. Ginny felt a little guilty that she hadn’t realized that before. She thought she had been the only one holding back. She’d assumed that guys just wanted to have sex and didn’t much care how. But the earnest sweetness in Harry’s expression said differently. That this was important. That the circumstance mattered as much as the act itself. At least for him.

She smiled. “I think I have a plan.”

*****

Arthur Weasley sipped his tea as he read The Guardian. He didn't understand everything happening in the muggle world, but he liked to try and stay informed. And he found football almost as exciting as quidditch.

Breakfast was a much quieter affair now that most of his children had moved out; only Ginny lived at the Burrow full time.

"Would you like anything special to celebrate your birthday, dear?" Molly asked Ginny. "It's a Tuesday, so I thought we could make a big fuss at dinner the Sunday before. Any plans for the day of?"

"Harry is taking me out in Muggle London."

"That'll be fun! Maybe we'll have a special pudding when you get home?"

"Actually, Mum, I'm going to spend the night at Harry's."

Arthur heard his wife drop her toast.

"Arthur, what do you have to say about this."

 _So much for a quiet breakfast._

He looked carefully at his daughter, the determination in her expression that reminded him so much of his wife. Ginny had led a resistance movement, fought in a battle, and buried a sibling. She clearly wasn’t a little girl anymore. And it wasn’t fair to treat her as such.

"Well, Ginny, at seventeen, you are an adult. So I suppose you can do as you wish." Arthur pulled the paper up to fully cover his face and hoped his wife wasn't about to hex him.

*****

Harry walked into the broom shed at the Burrow, eagerly anticipating an after dinner fly. Instead, he found Bill Weasley leaning against a wall.

“We need to talk, Harry.”

Harry swallowed audibly. Nothing good started with that sentence, especially not when coming from his girlfriend’s older brother.

Bill took a deep breath. “I hear Ginny is going to spend the night at your place on her birthday.”

_Fuck_

Harry decided to plead for his life.

“Bill, I uh... I…”

“Relax Harry, I'm not going to hurt you. While some of my brothers may have a certain... protective attitude... towards Ginny, I am well aware that she is her own woman.”

Somehow those words didn't make Harry feel better coming out of the mouth of the scarred, muscled, curse breaker.

“Look, Dad’s Talk and the Hogwarts seminar are both rather clinical. I just want you to know that if you ever need to know about anything… personal… you can ask me without judgement.”

_Oh, Merlin. BIll was offering to give Harry sex advice._

“I… ummmm… thanks?”

“Harry, I do need to ask if you know the Sperma Immobilis charm?”

Harry carefully inspected some dirt on the floor. “Yea, I did pay attention in the seminar.”

“Good, good.” Bill nodded and clapped Harry on the shoulder. “Well then, just know that I’m here for you.”

“Yea, Bill, sure.” Harry moved slowly toward the door.

"And Harry… Hero of the Wizarding World or no, if you hurt my sister, I will end you."

*****

Ginny found that she quite enjoyed Harry’s definition of a proper date. They’d had a leisurely dinner on the patio of a muggle restaurant. Ginny suspected it was entirely too expensive, but she wasn’t clear on the pounds to galleons conversion. She didn’t complain though as Harry looked blissfully happy to be out with her in a place where no one knew them. And he looked absolutely dashing in the tight muggle trousers and dress shirt. He had tried to comb down his hair, but Ginny had messed it up again with her hello kiss. She liked it better that way.

Now, the heat of the summer's day had faded into an absolutely beautiful evening. Hands intertwined, they walked through a park, enjoying the cooling night air. 

"I thought we could go someplace with music next. Do you want to dance or…"

"Or you could just take me to your place."

"Hmmm, I could do that." 

Harry grinned and hurriedly pulled her behind a shrub. He wrapped his arms around her, before spinning slightly, and with an audible pop, they were standing in his bedroom at Grimmauld Place.

*****

Hermione looked up from her book as Ron returned to their bedroom. He flopped on their bed, covering his face with his hands.

"I thought you were getting us some tea and toast?"

"I couldn't go in the kitchen. It was too traumatic."

Hermione rolled her eyes at her boyfriend's theatrics. 

"What were they doing?" Hermione asked with condescending patience.

"They were making breakfast." Ron moaned between his fingers.

"That's all?" Hermione laughed and shook her head. "Grow up, Ron. Harry's seen us do worse." Hermione winced, remembering the incident that had led to an awkward conversation about appropriate activities for communal areas.

Ron sat up, looking seriously at Hermione. "But he was smiling at her. _Smiling,_ Hermione, at my sister. I don't think I can ever unsee that." He flopped back down, arm thrown dramatically across his face.

"I guess I'll get the tea then." Hermione sighed as she got out of bed.

**Thanks for reading. Comments make my day. And don’t forget to be awesome.**


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